Lark
by nightingaleandrobin
Summary: This is a continuation of Lark by larkofitaly. It's about a young girl named Catherine who is saved by none other than the Boy Wonder. This is her story as she meets Bruce Wayne's adopted children and follows the clues of why they seem so different from others.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey everyone! This is not my fanfic. I was asked to continue it by my friend: larkofitaly. If you want to read chapters one and two click the link below.**

s/10497950/1/Lark

**Since multiple languages are being spoken (and I don't speak any of them other than english well) here is the key to describe the languages.**

**Bold = French**

_Italics = Romanian_

Underlined = Italian

**Disclaimer: I don't own any one other then Lily and my friend owns Kin and Catherine. I wish I owned DC comics but sadly I don't.**

**With that out of the way...here's chapter three of Lark**

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Chapter 3

Language extravaganza

~Catherine's POV~

Homeroom had been very uneventful, other than Kin and I being late. Kin had immediately became good friends with Dick and they spent the entire time chatting. Lily had been civil but withdrawn; only talking with the debate team captain Barbara Gordon and Dick.

Now Kin and I were walking down the hall, and Kin was complaining about the tight dress shoes that were pinching his toes. I was too busy trying to find the French V room to pay any attention. With dismay I saw the wonder twins turn into a classroom that was in the French Wing of the school. As we got closer my sense of dismay deepened, it was the class that Kin and I had next.

Upon entering the classroom we stood towards the back of the room because Madame Galeto was assigning seats. She was a new teacher and thought it was a fabulous idea to sit people in groups of four by age. I was seated across from Kin which was great and next to Lily which was not so great. Madame Galeto instructed us to use the class to get to know the others at our table.

Kin and Dick immediately continued to talk, this time in fluent french; while Lily and I sat in an awkward silence. With wide smiles our brothers turned to us and in unison said, "**Maybe you two should try to talk to each other"**, then they both winced as we kicked their shins. Lily hesitated and slowly said, "**How long have you taken french"**, what was annoying was she said it really slow.

Quickly I replied letting my annoyance show, "**I've taken french for the last eight years. What about you?"**. Lily quietly said "**Four years"**. After that we talked civilly to one another and the boys joined in once the subject of superheroes came up. Kin and I were more into the conversation then the rich twins, but they were a big part of the conversation. Dick almost said something and Lily looked at him and started rapidly talking in a language that wasn't french, or any of the others I recognized.

~Dick's POV~

I'll be the first to admit that I got a little carried away with the conversation about superheroes, but I know them personally and I am one. I was about to say something about a strange Flash quark when Lily started talking in rapid romanian. "_Careful, I know what you were about to say, very few people know the random quarks of the league members. Mainly other superheroes."_. I looked at Lily in surprise, she's usually very cautious about what language she speaking and she usually only speaks romanian at the manor. Kin was looking at us curiously and judging by the looks Lily and I were getting nobody else at the table understood romanian. Reluctantly I started speaking romanian as well, "_You're right, but can you at least be a little more social? You've said a total of three full sentences to Catherine. She's not going to turn evil."._

Lily reluctantly nodded, "_Fine...but you know why I'm withdrawn at school. It limits the amount of people actual villains can use against me if they ever find out about our secret"_. Now it was my turn to nod but I fired back "_I know why, but we are making a scene by talking romanian so we should probably go back to speaking french before you start talking in italian or even worse atlantean"_. With a small smile she nodded, and I subtly sighed in relief.

~Catherine's POV~

While the other two geniuses talked to each other in rapid hushed tones I turned towards Kin. I spoke to him in a lower tone and started speaking Italian, "Do you have any idea what language they're speaking?" he shook his head and replied "I was hoping you would know considering you're the one who is fluent in five languages".

We didn't notice when the wonder twins stopped talking to each other until Lily asked in fluent italian, "What five languages?". Startled I almost jumped out of my seat and in annoyance turned to the other female twelve year old, "You first, how many languages do you speak?". She slightly smiled and replied, "I speak four languages fluently, but shouldn't we continue this conversation in french? After all, we are in french class".

I easily switched to french, "**For your information I speak: italian, english, french, spanish, and gaelic"**. Lily and Dick both looked impressed and Lily spoke up. "**That's pretty amazing. Out of your five I speak: english, french, and italian"**. Before I could reply the bell rang signaling the end of class.


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey Everyone! Here's the next chapter of Lark. Please Review.**

**Disclaimer: I only own Lily and the article. My friend Larkofitaly owns Kin and Catherine and the idea for the story. DC comics owns everything else.**

**Enjoy!**

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Chapter 4

Answers

~Catherine's POV~

Five subjects, including lunch and homeroom. That's how many subject/classes I had with Lily. Four of those were also with Dick luckily. Those classes were still pretty bad in the social atmosphere. I could have avoided the two look alikes at lunch but Dick had invited Kin to sit next to him. Kin accepted and ended up dragging me along with him.

Speaking about lunch, I found something out about Lily and Dick Wayne. As Kin was literally dragging me along to the table; we had overheard a conversation between the two of them. Lily was speaking when we got there, "You would think the jibes would stop after three years". Dick shrugged, "Well...you know how most of the other kids here are, they feel entitled because they were born into the life of the rich". Lily sighed, "I know, but it still is annoying".

Dick saw Kin then and waved, to which Kin waved back. Lily gave a small smile of hello but that was about it. Kin being an idiot asked Dick, "I didn't mean to overhear your conversation...but, why is it you two are not very popular? I mean you two are the kids of one of the most famous men in Gotham City."

Dick smiled, "Already bringing out the big questions. We aren't popular because not only are we two years younger than everyone here we were adopted three years ago." I was confused slightly, "Isn't it rare for twins to be adopted at the same time?". Lily answered this time, "We aren't twins, we just look alike, the only difference being our gender and eye color, and we happen to have our birthdays three days apart".

Kin was a little perplexed, "You mean the two of you aren't twins yet you look like it." He turned to me, "That's completely unfair, we actually are twins and don't look like each other at all!". He was right, the other two twelve year olds we very similar. Each of them had straight jet-black hair, a lean build, similar height, and a similar light tan. Dick had beautiful blue eyes the shade of sapphires while Lily had green eyes the shade of emeralds. While Kin and I were almost completely opposite from each other. I was still thinking about what had happened at lunch by the end of the school day.

I was brought back to the end of the first day of school by Kin waving his hand in front of my face. "Hello...I've asked you the same question now three times. Is everything ok?". I nodded, "Sorry just lost in thought. What was your question?". Kin gave a small smile in relief that I was ok and he replied, "What do you think about going to the bookstore at the end of the week? To celebrate surviving the first week of school." I nodded, "Sounds like a good idea". The two of us headed to the bus stop still making plans to go to the bookstore on Friday.

~Dick's POV~

I poked Lily in the shoulder, trying to keep her attention away from homework. We didn't have a lot of homework today but we still had some. As soon as we went into the line for the kids who were going to be picked up, Lily had pulled out her homework and started completing it. She half-heartedly swatted my hand away and continued her work. I poked her again, and in annoyance she looked up. I joked, "Finally, I was thinking I was going to have to rob a bank to get your attention." and Lily half smiled.

Before she could go back to homework I started speaking, "Do you think this could be the year you make some friends? I know why you aren't social but a few friends might do you some good.". Lily slightly hesitated, "I do have friends; you and Barbara". I sighed, "You know what I mean, and you barely said anything to Barbara until this year." I said. She shrugged, "Maybe, it's just because it takes me two years to make friends". I gave her the best disapproving bat-glare I could, but it wasn't very intimidating, "You became friends with me in two minutes, therefore your argument is invalid." I said and Lily slightly smiled.

Before the conversation could continue we saw Alfred pull up in the pick-up line and we hurried to the mini-limo. In unison we exclaimed, "Hey, Alfred!" as we climbed into the vehicle. He nodded and replied very formally, "Good Afternoon Master Dick and Mistress Lily. Master Bruce and I are looking forward to hear about your first day of school." I saw Lily's smile falter a bit, after three years she still hasn't grown used to the title 'Mistress' and I honestly don't think she will for a long time.

I looked over and saw that she was once again doing her homework. Sighing I leaned back in my seat and looked out the window until we reached the manor. Then I raced Lily upstairs so we could change out of the uncomfortable school uniforms. I was hoping we would also get to go on patrol tonight so I changed into an outfit that I could easily swap for my colorful uniform.

~Catherine's POV~

We got home and raced into our bedrooms. We had just bought our uniforms the day before and hadn't had time to wash or iron them so they were very stiff. I happily pulled off the tight dress shoes that had probably blistered my feet. I pulled my black tanktop and jeans from off the floor where I had left them that morning. Putting the outfit on my bed I pulled off the dark blue cardigan and the white blouse. After putting on the tank top I pulled off the blue and black plaid skirt and the white knee length stockings and exchanged them for my jeans. Wincing slightly as my bruised ribs protested the movement.

I went to the living room and grabbed the laptop kin and I shared then retreated back to my bedroom. I sat down on my bed with my back against the wall and logged into my account. Something had seemed different about Lily and Dick Wayne, they had both been reluctant to talk about their past, and I was going to find out what. Luckily tons of gossip follows Bruce Wayne and it's not hard to find information.

They had said they were adopted three years ago so I went to the search website and typed it 'Bruce Wayne adoptions' and an article pulled up on the screen. The article was from three years ago. I started reading the text. It said, 'On April 3rd, Bruce Wayne adopted a young boy. The boy's name is Richard Jonathan Grayson.' I stopped reading and muttered, "Grayson...I know that name. Where have I heard it?"

Kin had walked into the room looking for the laptop and had heard me muttering. He asked, "Did you say Grayson...as in the Flying Graysons?" My eyes widened, of course that was where I had heard the name. The Flying Graysons were some of the best acrobats in the world before they died in a tragic accident.

Kin noticed the article on the screen and gave me a disapproving look. Before he could give me a lecture I scooted over to make room for him next to me and said, "You might want to see this. Your new best friend is the last surviving member of the Flying Graysons". He sat next to me and we read the article together.

The article stated, 'Now two days ago on May 16th he won the lawsuit and was given permission to adopt a second child. Many people disapproved of him adopting the second child given his reputation around town as a party boy. After winning he adopted a young girl who was friends with Richard. The girl's name is Lily Jade Pierce. Below is a picture of the two young wards with their legal guardian, Bruce Wayne.' and below the article was a picture of them. Kin looked at me, "Well...that was helpful. No wonder they didn't want to talk about their past.". I nodded wordlessly.


	3. Chapter 3

**Hello everyone. Here is chapter 5 of Lark. Please leave a review so I can make this story better so you enjoy it.**

**Disclaimer: Once again I don't own Catherine and Kin Woods, my friend Larkofitaly does. I also don't own DC comics, I know it's a shocker. :) I only own Lily/Nightingale and for this chapter I own the three nameless bank robbers.**

**Without farther ado, here is chapter 5 of Lark!**

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Chapter 5

Late Night

~Third Person POV~

It was quiet that night in Gotham. There was the usual noises of cars from the businessmen that were late from leaving work and the night guards that were heading to work. The quiet noises of the night were interrupted by the high shrill of a bank alarm.

It was a simple robbery; the three men had planned the job for months, and they thought they had planned for everything including the Bat. There were no windows on the roof leaving only the reasonable choice of the front door. The door where there were two machine guns pointed at.

On a rooftop across the street Batman and Robin were watching the bank; the hacked Security Camera's showing the weak attempt at a trap. Robin frowned thoughtfully, "We could try to go through the side windows but they're too small for you to get through without them turning the machine guns on you.". Batman nodded and frowned as a shadow passed across one of the side windows. In a lowered voice Batman half-growled, "She didn't". Robin saw the shadow as it stopped in front of a window behind one of the men holding a gun. Giving a small smile Robin said, "She did".

Nightingale was slowly cutting through the glass on the window. A small hole was cut and the window was unlocked as her gloved hand slipped through the hole and moved the latch. The window silently was slid upward and she slipped in. Grabbing a bola rope and tossing it around one of the men holding a gun, she created minimal noise. The man falling made more noise as he hit the ground.

The other two grown men turned and one let out a string of colorful language along with the words, "The Bat's brat". The one holding the gun pointed it at the slim figure but didn't have the chance to pull the trigger. Batman and Robin then crashed through the door and the gun holding maniac turned to shoot at them. A bat-a-rang thrown by Nightingale crashed into the gun knocking it out of the hands holding it. A pistol was pulled out and pointed at the slim girl as the guy who had been holding the machine gun was tied up from a bola rope thrown by Robin.

The leader of the three robbers had walked within five feet of the girl his pistol was now pointing at while the attention had been on one of his companions. Everyone in the room heard the gun get cocked and turned the attention to the leader of the robbers. He said in a lowered voice, "Nobody move or Anonymous Girl gets a bullet through her". Unfortunately for him, he didn't see the smoke bomb get pulled out of her belt as he was talking.

Nightingale dropped the smoke bomb and the robber blindly shot towards where she had been a moment before. She had been too slow moving out of the way so the bullet hit Nightingale in the arm, which was in the location that her heart had been seconds before. The person who had just shot the gun had heard the impact but didn't get a chance to see the result as Batman punched him in the side of the face; knocking him out cold.

~Robin's POV~

I heard the sickening sound of a bullet hitting flesh, and knew my sister had just been hit. As Batman tied up the three criminals I ran to where Nightingale had been. The smoke was beginning to clear and I saw my sister trying to stop the bleeding and tear her cape to create a bandage at the same time. With relief I noticed that the bullet had just hit her arm and missed the vital organs and arteries.

I ran up to her and helped her create a bandage out of her cape. While I was tying it tightly around her upper left arm; Batman appeared. He was glaring at Nightingale, his normal mask of no emotion was replaced by an angry scowl. Batman growled in a lower tone, "What were you thinking? You weren't even allowed on patrol tonight. You need to stop sneaking out!".

This time Nightingale scowled, "No 'Thanks for taking out one of the guys with a gun'. I snuck out because I'm tired of being left behind. You don't know what it's like worrying about your dad and your brother every time they leave you behind. That's why I sneak out, so I don't have to worry as much.". Batman glared more giving Nightingale the full bat-glare, "Look where sneaking out got you tonight, you were shot because of it".

Nightingale returned the glare and said, "The bullet barely hit me, I'm fine". I faked a cough to get their attention. When they were both looking at me I said, "Can you continue this conversation when we get to the Batcave?". They both nodded and I just managed to hold back a sigh of relief.

We made sure the criminals were tightly secured and the three of us jumped into the Batmobile; Batman exiling Nightingale to the back seat. We quickly got the the Batcave and the three of us pulled off our masks. While Alfred was pulling the bullet out of Lil's arm, Bruce and Lily continued to argue.

I stood there awkwardly while the two most stubborn people I knew argued. Neither of them were willing to admit they were wrong or that the other one was right. Things were quickly becoming out of hand especially once Bruce grounded Lily; meaning he pulled her off patrol for a while.

Lily scowled, "That's not a big surprise, it's your punishment for everything. I sneak out, I get grounded. I get shot, you ground me. Joker or someone else manages to capture me, not only do I have to stay off patrol while I heal, you ground me." she was barely managing to not shout. Bruce looked her in the eyes, "This is the end of discussion, you are grounded until I decide otherwise and if you keep this up it will be a long time until you get to go on patrol again". I watched Lily give Bruce a batglare, but she stopped arguing with him, because he would keep her off patrol for a long time. Once Alfred managed to finish cleaning the wound, Lily thanked him and went upstairs. I sighed and followed my sister; knowing that she would calm down soon.

~Catherine's POV~

It had been a late night, later for me than I usually stayed awake. I had finished my homework and had spent most of the night finding out what was so different about my fellow twelve year old classmates. I knew how Dick had lost his family but it was surprising how Lily lost her family. It didn't take much to find out about the explosion and it did put some of the pieces together.

I had been most surprised when I found out they held a world record and have kept hold of it for three years. I had told Kin and he wanted to ask Dick to continue teaching us gymnastics, but I told him to wait a while.

Now I was laying in bed and trying to get to sleep. Tomorrow would be an interesting day, I was sure of it. Rolling onto my side I closed my eyes and fell into a heavy sleep, oblivious to the noises of the night.

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**I know there was a short section from our main character and a long 3rd person POV. I won't be doing this often but it will happen every once in a while. **

**Thanks to those who are reading my writing, I know I'm not the best writer but I enjoy writing this for everyone. **

**Once again please leave a review so I know what you guys like and what you don't like in my story.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Sorry about the delay, I was suffering a little bit of writers block. Please review!**

**Disclaimer: I only own Lily. My friend Larkofitaly owns Catherine, Kin, and the homeroom teacher. DC comics owns everyone else.**

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Chapter 6

Performances

~Dick's POV~

I rolled out of bed as my alarm clock went off. From down the hall I could hear Lily's alarm clock also going off. I rubbed my eyes, trying to get the lingering traces of sleep from showing. Stifling a yawn I walked to my closet to get my school uniform.

As I finished throwing the dress pants, white button up shirt, tie, and dark blue vest on my bed I heard a soft knock on my door. I figured it was Lily and even though I didn't have a pajama shirt on I walked to and opened the door.

She smiled, but it was slightly pained. In a quiet voice she asked, "Do you have any pain relieving pills? Mine are in the cave and I'm not aloud to go down there for a while". I nodded and invited her inside my room. Walking to my dresser I pulled out a small bottle of the meds and pulled out two.

I looked at the mirror on top of my dresser and noticed Lily absentmindedly rubbing her arm. I realized that as I started to turn around she stopped. I walked over to her and as I handed her the two small pills I said, "Show me". Lily shook her head, but I wasn't willing to take no for an answer so I grabbed her left wrist. She tried to reason with me and pull her wrist out of my hand but I was holding it so she couldn't. Since she wasn't going to be able to pull her wrist out of my hand she held her pajama shirt sleeve so I couldn't pull it up.

In a soft voice I said, "Lil, let me see it." I watched her shoulders sag slightly and knew I was almost there. I continued urging, "Please Lil". Lily looked at my bedroom door and tried to change the topic "We'll be late to school if we don't hurry and get ready. We can't be late, we are performing in the new school year pep rally. ".

I slightly tightened my grip and said in a level tone, "I'm not letting go of your wrist until I see where you got shot". She sighed and gave a small smile, "You already have, you saw last night". With my free hand I started to try to pry her fingers off her upper arm and she tightened her grip on her arm.

In a quiet voice she explained, "It's not the worst thing that I've gone through". I finally found a flaw in her argument. "If it's not the worst thing you've gone through show me". She opened her mouth to argue and closed it again when she realized she didn't have an argument.

Reluctantly her hand loosened around her arm and I finished prying her fingers all the way off. Lily's hand dropped to my wrist as I started to pull up her pajama shirt sleeve and she whispered, "Please don't tell Bruce". I nodded and her hand drop from my wrist.

Alfred had done a good job cleaning it as always but the area around the brand-new stitches was discolored. A bruise had formed during the night and it was colorful. I saw two different shades of purple, a little bit of red, and some brown. Lily was right, it wasn't the worst thing she had gone through. It wasn't even close, but a bruise like that is painful.

I let go of her wrist and she thanked me for the pain relieving pills. After she left I hurried into my school uniform, combed the remaining gel out of my hair, and ran downstairs. I got downstairs in time to tell Bruce goodbye and grab an apple for breakfast. Lily was already downstairs and finishing a bagel. Alfred hurried us off to the car so we would be in time for school.

~Catherine's POV~

The bus was on time today thankfully. We arrived at the school courtyard and had time to mingle. Kin and I stayed separate from the others and talked with each other. Kin started waving at someone and I didn't have to turn around to know who. I turned around anyways and saw them wave to someone as they ran towards us. Dick was running a little faster than Lily.

I had to stifle a laugh as Lily tried to stop, ended up slipping on a loose stone, and fell into Kin. Thankfully they didn't end up on the ground, although they almost did. To stop them from both falling Kin had ended up grabbing Lily's upper left arm. She stepped back thanking him for stopping her from falling on the ground and apologizing for falling into him.

I noticed that's not all that was happening, when Kin had grabbed her arm she had winced slightly, but not enough to be seen if you weren't paying close attention. Lily looked at her feet embarrassed and her and Dick talked for a few seconds in the strange language they had spoken yesterday.

Kin asked curiously, "What language is that?". Dick smiled but there was some sadness lingering in his eyes, "It's actually my first language, I didn't really speak english till I met Lily although I knew some." and I noticed he had answered the question without answering the question. Kin wasn't satisfied with his answer, "Well...what language is it?". Dick and Lily looked at each other and Lily gave Dick a look that said, 'It's up to you'.

Dick sighed slightly, "It's...Well...It's romanian" he hurriedly finished. His usual smile was gone and Lily put her hand on his shoulder. I looked at Lily a little surprised and I saw a feeling of understanding in her eyes. Looking at Kin's bewildered expression I knew that the two of us would never understand the bond between the two orphans.

It was then the bell rang signalling it was time to head to homeroom. Kin and I started walking to the building and in a soft voice Lily told Kin and I, "We'll catch up, we just need to take care of something". Kin nodded and we both walked to the school's front door. As Kin went inside I looked back and saw Dick and Lily talking, right as I was about to go inside I saw Lily give Dick a quick hug, then both of them start to come to the front door. I hurried inside and was confused at the envious feeling I had just felt.

Ms. Golsa announced the new school year pep rally and I stifled a groan, I hate pep rallies. Kin looked at me and mouthed, "Why is it on the second day of school?". I shrugged, honestly I had no clue but my guess was that headmaster had forgotten to prepare a few things.

The pep rally was right after lunch. Once again Kin had dragged me to the table with the Wayne kids. Kin and Dick talked excitedly with each other as always. Lily had said hello but was quieter today than she was yesterday. I started conversation and found out how they had both skipped two grades; Dick because he was a genius in math and science, Lily because of a photographic memory and she knew more in history than most tenth graders. Before I could continue asking questions Lily tapped Dick on the shoulder and said, "It's time, we have to get to the gym".

~Dick's POV~

Lily and I headed to the changing rooms, the school uniforms didn't allow a lot of flexibility and we would need our leotards. I tapped Lily's shoulder, "Are you sure the two of us can still do a gymnastics routine? You did get shot last night." and she nodded. "We promised the headmaster we would do this and it will be too suspicious if we cancel last minute".

I nodded now, she was right, but I didn't have to be happy about it. Lily gave me a small smile, "I've done gymnastics with a broken wrist, a bruised arm is nothing". Before I could say anything Lily pulled me to the doors of the changing room, "Come on, we are going to be late".

We parted ways for a few minutes and met back in the hall. Both leotards were light blue, had three-quarter sleeves, and had been modified so the scars on our upper legs didn't show. Lily's had a skirt and mine had shorts as our modifications. Lily had pulled her hair back in a loose ponytail instead of the tight ponytail she used as Nightingale.

We headed into the gym and sat in some chairs in the corner of the room. I waved at Kin and Catherine when they walked in. Kin waved back and followed his sister. Lily leaned over to me, "Good luck" and I smiled.

~Catherine's POV~

Kin and I walked into the gym side by side. I had never been in the school gym and it was really nice. I saw Kin wave at someone and turned to see Lily and Dick sitting in the corner. They were out of their school uniforms and in gymnastics uniforms. Judging by the mat in the middle of the floor they were performing in the pep-rally.

Kin and I sat down near the middle of the bleachers. The Headmaster gave a welcome speech, the band played a few songs. I wasn't really paying much attention to those things. I payed attention to the cheerleaders though, the uniform wasn't as embarrassing as the uniform from our last school.

Eventually the headmaster informed us, "The last performance of the day is a gymnastic routine performed by Lily and Richard Wayne." Kin and I sat up more interested than we had the entire rally. With wide smiles Lily and Dick walked to the mat.

The routine they performed was fantastic. Front flips, black flips, back handsprings, aerials, cartwheels, and round offs. I was amazed. I had figured they would be good, but I hadn't thought they were going to be that good. They both bowed at the end of their routine. The headmaster gave a few parting words and that was the end of the pep-rally and the second day of school.

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**I'm already working on the next chapter but it still might take me a while, so I'm apologizing in advance for the next delay.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Here's the next chapter of Lark. Please review!**

**Disclaimer: I only own Lily aka Nightingale. Catherine and Kin Woods are owned by my good friend larkofitaly, DC comics owns everyone else.**

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Chapter 7

Invitation and Event

~Catherine's POV~

It's been a month since that second day of school. Kin and I asked if we could be taught the more complex gymnastic routines. Dick had been willing to teach us, Lily wasn't as willing but she agreed as well.

Dick was more friendly than Lily and I was amazed they hung out at all. He was willing to socialize and generally seemed kinder. Lily was quiet and withdrawn only talking openly with Dick or Barbara.

I looked down at the envelope Dick had passed to me while walking past me in the hall. It had both mine and Kin's name on it but I hadn't had a chance to open it then. When I had asked him about the envelope he smiled and said, "Alfred's very formal, the letter was his idea". The envelope was plain but Kin and I decided to wait until after school to open it.

Now the school day was over and we were at home. Kin was taking forever to change out of his school uniform and I was going to wait for him to open the letter. It sat on my bed next to half-finished homework that I was working on while I waited.

After what seemed like forever he knocked on my door. I allowed him in and we sat on the floor. I ripped off the top of the envelope and Kin pulled out the folded piece of paper inside. He quickly read it and with a wide smile handed it to me. I quickly read it and had to re-read it to make sure I wasn't reading it wrong.

It was a sleepover invitation for Friday, three days from today. It was a simple invitation, we would go to the Wayne Manor after school on Friday and would be dropped off at home after lunch time on Saturday. My only hope was dad and Indie would let us go.

Indie was home so we ran downstairs to ask. The answer we got was, "Your dad and I will have to talk about it". At least that meant there was still hope we could go on Friday. Unfortunately there was at least two hours before my dad got home. I sighed, but Kin and I could wait that long.

~Dick's POV~

I rolled my eyes for the third time in five minutes. Lily was saying something about not being able to trust Catherine. The two girls haven't really gotten along and neither of them trust each other.

I was surprised when Lily said, "She's been researching us." I turned to Lily, "How do you know that?". She shrugged slightly, "I was bored while you and Bruce were on patrol last night". I shook my head in exasperation, "So you hacked her computer?!". Lily asked, "What else am I suppose to do when I'm board? The most appealing options were: her computer, your computer, watchtower, or the pentagon. Her computer seemed like the safest thing to hack, I'm already in trouble with Bruce.".

I pinched the bridge of my nose and shook my head, I didn't know why Lily was so willing to do these type of things. In some ways she was more paranoid than Bruce, and it was a little exhausting. I didn't have anything I could say to her explanation. So I turned back to my french homework and said, "Thanks for the reason to upgrade my computer's firewalls". Sarcastically Lily said, "You're Welcome" and she turned back to her science homework.

After homework was finished, maybe thirty minutes after our initial conversation Lily stood up. Half-heartedly she said, "I'm going to go hack something otherwise I'm going to go crazy". I watched as she went upstairs and decided to follow her to make sure she didn't hack my computer. I was looking for Christmas gifts on it. Halfway up the stairs I decided just to go and update my computer firewalls and hack her computer.

I quietly slipped into my room and logged on to my computer. Pressing a few buttons I easily connected to her computer, although it took slightly longer to actually access her computer. I was originally confused at why she was hacking the school's records until I realized whose records she was hacking into.

I sighed and started trying to block the school records. I was trying to stop her from going overly paranoid. Immediately she started trying to override me and I was grateful that I was the faster hacker even though she was the better one. I started seeing messages appear in the descriptions she was writing. Mostly there were messages saying things like: 'Knock it off' 'You're making this difficult' and other messages like that.

I kept blocking her attempts anyways. Eventually I lost track of time until I got an email from Kin. I finally sent a message in the firewall that said: 'Got a reply'. Finally she stopped breaking down the firewalls I put up. Once I was sure she was done breaking down firewalls I rubbed my hands, they were really sore. Lily came in and she was also rubbing her hands.

After giving me a bat-glare she asked, "What was the response?". I made sure that I returned the glare before admitting, "I don't know" I then added in an exasperated tone of voice, "Someone was trying to hack school records". At least she had the decency to look embarrassed. I opened the email and smiled, the answer was yes they could come over. I quickly replied and added the fact that we had an indoor pool if they wanted to swim.

~Catherine's POV~

-Friday-

It was finally Friday and it was the day of the sleepover. Kin and I both had an extra backpack with things for the sleepover. I was slightly excited but the only thing I wasn't excited about was the fact I was having a sleepover with Lily. The sleepover was all Kin had talked about for the last few days.

The school portion of the day was over so the four of us were in the waiting line. I told Lily, "I didn't think you were the type of person who liked sleepovers, you always seem so withdrawn". She barely looked up from the homework she was completing and said in a neutral tone of voice, "There is so much more to me than what meets the eye Catherine".

Dick pushed her shoulder a little bit and Lily sighed in slight annoyance. I watched in some surprise, they hadn't been as close to each other since the day we got the invite. They hadn't been unfriendly though. It was almost like they had a fight; I knew twins fought but I hadn't ever seen them fight in the month that I knew them.

A black limo smaller than the others pulled up. I tall older gentleman stepped out of the driver seat and opened the back door. Lily and Dick both smiled and Dick gave introductions, "Kin, Catherine this is Alfred. Alfred these are our friends Kin and Catherine". Alfred spoke up, "It's nice to meet both of you." Kin and I nodded our greeting and climbed into the car. Kin asked, "Do you only ride in limos?" Dick shook his head, "No, we only ride the limos sometimes; they fit more people".

We nodded our understanding and the drive continued with only a few questions. When the Wayne Manor came into view both Kin's and mine mouth dropped open. It was huge! We pulled into the long driveway and Alfred quickly got out and opened the door. Lily climbed out and said, "Thank you Alfred". In his neutral tone of voice he replied, "You're welcome Mistress Lily. Mr and Miss Woods I will bring your bags up to the second floor. Master Dick, you and Mistress Lily are needed in the study for a minute.". He then parked the car and grabbed Kin's and my bags.

The four kids went inside and Dick turned to us, "I'm super sorry about this. If you wait here Lily and I will give you a tour after we finish talking with Bruce. You have free reign of most of the manor, but the study is off limits, so is Bruce's bedroom". We nodded still in awe of the size of everything and Lily and Dick headed into the study.

~Dick's POV~

Lily and I headed into the study. Bruce was at his desk and he looked up from his computer when we walked in. He immediately started speaking once the door was closed, "There is a chance that I'll need help on patrol tonight.". Lily was a little shocked and exclaimed, "You said we could have the sleepover tonight because Dick wasn't needed on patrol...as of yesterday I was still grounded from last month". Bruce held up a hand and Lily stopped talking. Bruce explained, "It's a maybe that I'll need you help and judging by the rumors going around some of the crime organizations I'll need both of you tonight." I asked, "What rumors?"

Bruce explained, "It changes depending on the organization, sometimes they say Joker, others say Penguin, Poison Ivy or even Mr. Freeze. All the organizations agree that there is going to be something big.". Lily and I nodded our understanding and Bruce continued, "I've already come up with a signal for Alfred so you can still have your sleepover but you'll be able to assist me if it's needed. I just wanted to give you two a warning.". We nodded again and Bruce went back to working on his computer and we left the study.

Kin and Catherine were still in the entry hall when we came out. Lily and I apologized and started the tour. We stopped off at Lily's and my bedrooms so all four of us could change out of school uniforms. After we were in comfortable clothes we completed the tour of the manor. We ended at the second floor living room where it was big enough for all four of us to sleep comfortably. Once we setted up: sleeping bags, blankets and pillows we ran downstairs to eat some of Alfred's cookies.

We spent the rest of of the afternoon playing board games, doing gymnastics, and having a good time. Lily and I were a little tense from the information we had learned from Bruce but we had a good time anyways. The afternoon went by quickly and we found ourselves at bedtime. Bruce had excused himself to go to bed an hour earlier, but I knew he was heading out on patrol. We watched a movie and slowly drifted off to sleep one by one. Lily and I were the last ones to fall asleep.

Next thing I knew Alfred was shaking me awake, Lily was standing behind him. Once I was awake he motioned me to be quiet and to follow him. I rose from my sleeping bag and followed him. Once we were downstairs we headed into the study. Alfred spoke in a hurried tone, "I fear we may have some trouble, it appears that Master Bruce got captured. From the message I received it seems that there was more than one villain, there were at least four.".

Lily spoke up, "We'll go rescue him, thank you for letting us know" and she crossed the room to the grandfather clock and had the hidden passageway appear. We ran down the stairs and to the changing stalls quickly. In record time we put on our costumes and our motorcycle helmets. I ran to get the motorcycles and Nightingale ran to the batcomputer. She hacked into Batman's belt and accessed his coordinates. Once we knew where our father was we headed out into the streets of Gotham.

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**Sorry ****for the cliffhanger. I'll add the next chapter as soon as I can, I'm just very busy lately. Thanks for reading!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey everyone. Sorry for the delay, I was experiencing computer problems and a giant writers block followed by the loss of this chapter. Please Review.**

**Also I know that this fight would not have gone this way but this is a fan fiction and this is the way I write.**

**Disclaimer: I only own Lily and my friend larkofitaly owns most of the story line, Catherine and Kin. The rest of these fantastic characters belong to DC comics.**

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Chapter 8

Trouble

~Robin's POV~

We were in a warehouse hidden among the rafters. The scene below us seemed hopeless. Batman was in a giant cage, probably Joker's design and his belt was on a workshop table on the other end of the room. Even worse scattered around the room was Joker, Poison Ivy, Penguin, and Mr. Freeze. In the middle of the room was a contraption that looked like a giant bomb.

Nightingale looked at me her eyes slightly widened trying to hide her fear. I was in the same boat as her. The two of us were only twelve and below us was Joker who hated both of us and Poison Ivy who hated Nightingale, then you had two other psychopaths. We had no plan and Batman couldn't escape. There was no way that we could win this battle without Batman.

A single bird landed on the rafters below us and we stopped moving completely. If that bird moved and spotted us we would be caught. Unfortunately, we were so focused on the bird below us we missed the birds above us. The next thing we heard was birds squawking and Penguin saying, "We have company."

We jumped from the rafters just in time. Behind us the rafter we had originally been on froze. Landing on the ground I had to bite my tongue to keep from swearing. Around us were the four villains. Joker laughed maniacally and said gleefully, "If it isn't my favorite bird girl and boy blunder." Nightingale and I immediately stood back to back. Penguin was the weakest in the group followed by Mr. Freeze and Poison Ivy. I would have to avoid her though, because every time we fight she tries to gas Batman and I with her mind controlling spores. I was confused why they hadn't controlled Batman yet until I noticed the rebreather in his mouth.

That explained a few things but we were still at a massive disadvantage. To actually have a fighting chance we would need to free Batman, but that was what the villains were expecting. Mr. Freeze made the first move and we dodged. The icy blast hit Penguin's umbrella and we used the confusion to race to where Batman was. I guarded Nightingale's back while she picked the lock. I looked back when I heard a cry of pain coming from her. She had dropped the pin and the lock and her gloved hand was smoking. She whispered, "It's electrocuted, this will take me a little longer."

She bent down and picked up the pin, while she was doing that I threw four smoke bombs in the middle of the arguing villains to confuse them more. I looked back at my sister, her face had an expression of intense concentration and she was muttering incoherently under her breath. I looked back just in time to see a grenade with a giant smile land near my feet. Hurriedly I picked it up and threw it towards where it had come from.

In an urgent tone I said, "Hurry please". Nightingale barely replied with, "I'm almost there." After a few more minutes, smoke bombs, and ice pellets Nightingale had the cage unlocked. Batman climbed out and took the rebreather out of his mouth. Nodding his thanks he got ready to fight.

That's when it went down hill. Batman dashed across the room trying to get to his belt and Mr. Freeze got a lucky blast in that moment. Batman was frozen in his spot as his feet were frozen in giant blocks of ice. With a slightly seductive smile Poison Ivy waved a spore producing plant in front of his face and Batman was given back his belt. Then he was slyly told to bring Robin to her as plants crushed the ice surrounding his feet. I gulped, there was no way I could get caught. If I did Nightingale would probably end up dead. The only problem is that in fighting Batman knew everything that I did plus some.

I felt a comforting squeeze on my hand that was now grasped by an identically gloved hand. I could tell in that single gesture that she was scared but was willing to do whatever it took. Returning to a fighting stance she slipped a few smoke bombs into her hand and as soon as Batman started to run towards us, she threw them into his face. Under her breath I heard her whisper, "Sorry".

Neither of us were surprised when he broke through the smoke. Nightingale stepped in front of me pushing me behind her. The other villains seemed content to let Batman fight us while they finished working on their contraption. I wanted to help but my sister refused to let me. I could tell all she wanted was to keep from fighting me and Batman.

It didn't take long for Batman to find a weakness in her defense and throw her out of the way. She landed a little ways away but Batman was already fighting me. My guard was to high so Batman punched me in the stomach. As I slightly doubled over he grabbed me around the ribs, pinning my arms to my side. I was then carried over to where Poison Ivy was and she waved another spore producing plant in front of my face. The last thing I heard before my mind was taken over was, "Kill Nightingale".

~Third Person POV~

The instructions echoed around the room and Nightingale's eyes widened in fear. She knew she only had one hope of getting out alive but if it didn't work the city was doomed. She ran to the back of the warehouse as Batman and Robin followed. Dodging a few bat-a-rangs and ice pellets she reached the back and whirled around. Immediately she had to duck to avoid a fist.

Looking at the now indented wall she said, "What the heck Batman! That would have taken off my head!". It was a desperate attempt to get through the mind controlling spores and it didn't work. With a small yelp Nightingale rolled away from another attack. Pleadingly she asked, "Robin...Batman….please fight the spores. I can't fight you both.".

Joker let out a laugh and gleefully exclaimed, "Where's the popcorn! This needs popcorn!" and he let out another laugh. Nightingale scowled, threw a few bat-a-rangs towards the group of amused villains and dodged another attack. Robin then got a hit in and jabbed her shoulder while Batman grabbed her wrist and squeezed. It wasn't enough to kill her but her left wrist was now broken and she couldn't move her left arm at all. Panicked she ran down the side of the room, calling over her shoulder, "Snap out of it! You don't kill!". Her pleading met deaf ears and a bat-a-rang cut through her cape. The bottom portion of the once outstretched cape flittered to the ground.

With another small yelp she dived behind a crate. Running and weaving between the crates she managed to get close to the machine. The control panel was a little bit away from the actual giant bomb. Plugging in the cord from her holo-glove, Nightingale started furiously typing, trying to disarm the bomb. Gritting her teeth in pain the small girl continued to work even though there was a bat-a-rang in her leg. She'd have to disarm the bomb herself otherwise the city would be gone.

The bat-a-rang started to beep, hurriedly Nightingale yanked it out of her leg and threw it into the wall. The wall exploded into bits as the shutdown code was being located. Taking a step to right to avoid another bat-a-rang through the leg a small whimper escaped her throat. The bat-a-rang thrown after the first sliced the side of her calf. She knew she had to finish this fast or she would end up dead. It was only because the slim girl was family that she hadn't been killed yet. At least that was her hope.

Her glove beep and she quickly entered the code. As Nightingale inserted the deactivation code, Robin's gloved hand close around her throat. Unfortunately she had been too focused on the bomb and Robin had managed to sneak closer than would be good for Nightingale's health. Gasping as the grip around her throat tightened Nightingale tried once more, this time in whispered romanian. The words came out in between strangled gasps for breath, "_Robin… this… isn't… you. You… wouldn't... kill…your… own… sister… even… while… being… controlled." _

After saying these two sentences Nightingale started to lose consciousness. The last conscious thing she remembered doing was placing a virus on the bomb so it could never be activated again. So even if her life was over at the age of twelve, the city would be safe for a little bit longer. As her vision blurred the grip around her throat loosened and she fell into the arms of her brother.

~Robin's POV~

Through the blackness I heard romanian, but the words were stretched far apart as if the person speaking them were struggling for breath. The words soon became clear, I knew it was Nightingale saying: "_Robin… this… isn't… you. You… wouldn't... kill…your… own… sister… even… while… being… controlled.". _

I blinked the blackness away and noticed with horror that my own gloved hand was around my sister's throat. Her left arm was dangling limply at her side, her wrist swollen. Her right arm rested on the holo-glove as if she had just hacked something. Her right leg was pouring a bit of blood out of her quadricep and her calf was trickling a thin stream. The dangling cape was shorter than when we had left the Batcave. I quickly released my hand from around her throat and caught her in my outstretched arms. Laying my sister on the ground I heard the villains in the background cheering.

In anger I realized that they thought I was still under Poison Ivy's control and that I killed her. I don't think they noticed she had deactivated the bomb, but if they did they were happy she was gone. My anger grew when Joker gleefully exclaimed, "Bird girl won't ever fly again, she's a broken bird." Trying to calm myself down I stood there, it was up to me now to save Batman and I could only do that if Poison Ivy thought I was still under control.

Nightingale had used romanian but that wouldn't work for Batman. I also couldn't use anything else. I kept thinking then I remembered his belt. If I could just touch the analysis button hidden in the clasp his suit would shock him because his brain waves were low. The tricky part would be pressing the button because it only worked if Batman pressed it.

I walked over to Batman as if awaiting other orders. I had to try to do something but there was nothing I could do. My gaze wandered back over to Nightingale, her limp form laying on the ground. She had faced the odds, almost sacrificing herself to keep the city safe for just a little bit longer and from as big of a disaster.

The next dreaded order came, "Take off your masks". I froze and thankfully Batman did too. Our masks was really our only layer of protection from our secret identities becoming not so secret. I had to wake Batman out of his trance fast. Maybe if I had a taser I wouldn't have to have his belt shock him, but I didn't own a taser. I only had one thing I could do and it would probably get me killed if it didn't work.

One last glance towards Nightingale gave me the courage I needed to complete my task. Taking a deep breath I reached for the clasp on Batman's belt knowing perfectly well that even that one action would blow my cover. Almost faster than I could react Batman brought his hand down to hit my hands away. I quickly removed my hands and Batman hit his belt clasp.

The shock that followed woke him out of his trance and the villains scowled. With a nod Batman and I sprang into action fighting different psychopaths. Penguin was the first to get knocked out followed by Mr. Freeze. I heard my sister groan slightly as she woke up. That momentary distraction ended with me getting punched in the stomach. I started cutting through Poison Ivy's vines that threatened to overtake Batman and I.

I wasn't fast enough or the vines were too fast or both. They started to box me and Batman in separately. I lost track of the two remaining villains and my own allies. As the vine made box started to get a little too confining the growth stopped. I sliced through the plants and saw a surprising sight. Nightingale was standing over an unconscious Poison Ivy, breathing slightly heavier than she normally would. Giving me a strained smile she collapsed to her knees, obviously still worn from earlier.

She fell to her knees just in time because milliseconds after she fell Joker's fist was where her head had been. He cursed and kicked at her back, a kick that landed. My hands curled into fists as my already worn sister fell forward with the force of the kick. She tried to push herself up but Joker had his foot planted on the small of her back.

I watched Batman's scowl deepen as he raced forward and aim a punch at Joker's head. Joker jumped back and I raced towards my sister to help her to her feet. With venom in my voice that both of us knew was out of fear and not anger I asked, "What were you thinking? You could barely stand!" She gave me a weak smile and softly replied, "I couldn't let you have all the fun."

By the time this exchange finished Batman had already tied Joker and he was ready to go. After putting Nightingale's motorcycle onto auto drive he gently picked her up and placed her in the back seat. He could obviously tell she was in no shape to make the drive home. Once Nightingale was safely in the car and not going to try to sneak off he nodded to me and the three of us headed home.

~Catherine's POV~

I woke up around three or four in the morning. One of the first things I noticed was two of the four sleeping bags were empty. Curiously I wandered downstairs and noticed the door to the gym was open. Since I remembered closing it yesterday I silently made my way down the hall. The padding of my feet on the marble barely making any noise. You would have to be paranoid if you were going to hear it at all.

When I stood right by the entranceway of the door, in a position where the occupants could not see me I started to listen in. Only eavesdropping for a few seconds revealed the fact that the two people in the room where none other than Lily and Dick.

Dick was the one speaking, "Honestly Lil, I thought you would know better than to do gymnastics without proper protection. You broke your wrist." Lily's voice came now, "It was an accident, my foot slipped in a puddle of water. Otherwise I wouldn't have broken anything. You set it already so I can wait until after the sleepover to go to the hospital to get it looked at.

I heard slight retort in the words that came from the elder of the two mouth, "The sleepover you aren't even attending right now." I could tell Lily shrugged here, "I couldn't sleep and I come down here when I couldn't sleep. If you'll excuse me now I need to go change back into my PJs so I can join the sleepover". Dick laughed and I worked my way back upstairs, not wanting to get caught.

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**Obviously they heard her coming and changed the topic of whatever they were talking about, but I can promise you that this isn't the end of Catherine snooping around.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Hey everyone! Once again sorry for the delay I was in the middle of vacation and didn't have a lot of time. I'll put the next chapter up as soon as I finish it.**

**Disclaimer: I only own Lily, and in this chapter the ice cream flavors at the end. My friend larkofitaly owns Catherine, Kin, and their family. Everything else is not owned by either one of us.**

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Chapter 9

Morning Drama

~Catherine's POV~

When I woke up Lily and Dick were apparently fast asleep. I saw that Lily's left wrist was wrapped in an ace bandage. It affirmed the fact that I hadn't dreamed about their early morning adventure. I quietly shook Kin awake and put my hand over his mouth when he started to speak. I had no idea how light or heavy of sleepers our hosts were.

I pulled Kin into a side room that was adjoined to where we had slept. Half asleep he said, "What's going on Cath? Do you know how early it is?". I put my hand over his mouth to stop the flow of questions. It was only 7 in the morning, so he was slightly exaggerating about the time of the morning. Quickly I explained what had happened earlier and Kin shook his head. He pushed my hand away from his mouth and asked, "Why can't you trust them more? They have let us stay at their house. Doing gymnastics in their own gym isn't strange."

I stopped his rant by once again putting my hand over his mouth. Sighing I said, "Haven't you noticed that something is different about them? I just want to find out what it is". He sighed and changed the subject, "Did you bring any books?. I nodded and the two of us went back to the living room. When we got there Lily was awake and leaning against the wall. She gave a small wave and I noticed that her throat looked slightly discolored but I passed it off as a trick of the light.

Kin smiled, "Hey Lily, how did you sleep?" I was slightly jealous, Kin seemed to be trusted more than I was. She smiled back and simply replied, "When I was asleep I slept fine, what about you?". He sat down beside her, "I slept great" I sat on the opposite side of the room, barely listening to the younger half of each set of twins. I heard Kin ask a few more questions and the only ones I really listened too included swimming and breakfast. Kin had asked, "What time is breakfast?" The answer received was casual, "Alfred said since we have guests he'll have breakfast prepared around 8:30." When Kin asked about swimming the answer was a bit more hesitant. Lily said, "I think we can swim today after breakfast, but Bruce or Alfred need to be there."

They fell into silence before Lily stood up. With a small smile directed at Kin, Lily smiled and said, "I'll be back but I'm going to go get ready for the day." With that she headed to her bedroom. Kin went over to me and whispered, "She's kind of cute". I made a face and and asked, "Do you have a crush on her?". He shrugged and I made a mental note to talk to him more at home.

Lily came into the room and was wearing a plain dark blue three-quarter sleeve shirt and a pair black jeans. It looked good on her but I realized that her outfit covered most of her skin not showing. The more I thought about it the more I realized all her clothes barely showed any skin. The only light color in her outfit included a necklace that seemed to be on a silver chain. I took interest in the pendant, it was in a shape of a bat and her name was on the inside in cursive.

Pointing at the necklace I asked, "Are you a big fan of Batman?". She nodded and answered, "Him, and Robin have saved my life before." I smiled, "That's something we have in common although Anonymous Girl was there when I was saved". I thought I saw a flash of annoyance in her eyes but it vanished as soon as I saw it. Camly Lily said, "I've seen her once or twice in my rescue but usually a distance".

Once again becoming the civil and withdrawn girl who I knew from school she walked over to Dick and shook him awake. He groggily woke up and Lily talked to him in english, saying something about getting up, to which he immediately replied in more romanian. Lily turned towards us, "I learned long ago that if he has just woken up he won't speak english so if you need a translator let me know." We nodded and Lily turned back to Dick and said, "I'm going to turn on another light". I didn't need to speak romanian to know that he had protested.

She ignored his protests and walked over to the light switch and flicked the light on. Dick groaned and pulled the blanket he was using over his head. Sighing Lily pulled the blanket off his head and helped him to his feet. He said something to her in romanian and she translated for us, "He said good morning and apologized for being the last one awake". Kin and I told him not to worry about it after saying good morning.

Turning and pointing down the hallway towards two doors Lily said, "Those two are bathrooms if you want to shower or just get ready." Kin and I simply nodded and went into the bedrooms to grab our backpacks that held our clothes before retreating into the bathrooms.

A few minutes later we were out in the living room dressed for the day. I was wearing some light blue jeans and a gray tank top while Kin was wearing a red tee-shirt and dark blue jeans. Dick was also ready for the day, in dark blue jean shorts and a white tee-shirt, and he smiled at me but I could tell he was still not quite awake. Lily was sitting on the floor cross legged reading, but she did look up when we entered the room.

Looking at Lily, Dick said something in romanian and Lily responded quickly in the same language. I wish that I could understand what they were saying, but I didn't have to wait long. Turning to us Lily translated, "He said he hopes you both slept fine and that he's excited to go swimming." I smiled, pleased to see that at least one of them were still kind to us.

We turned on early morning cartoons just to pass the time. By the time 8:30 rolled around we were all very much awake and Dick was back to speaking english. We headed downstairs towards the dinning room. The food looked wonderful and as we sat down to eat Mr. Wayne started asking us questions about our life. He seemed interested when I told him that our dad was a part time artist.

Mr Wayne explained that the portraits of his parents needed to be restored and he was trying to find someone who could accomplish that and if my father was interested he would love it if our father could restore the portraits. I caught a quick glance of alarm from Lily when he said that but it only lasted a second. It was interesting how quickly Lily was able to mask her emotions. Taking a sudden interest in her pancakes I was once again positive that something was different about the Waynes.

After we finished eating Bruce said, "Why don't you four go get your swimsuits on, the swimming pool is open." Three of the four kids raced upstairs, only Lily stayed behind to talk to Bruce. After a few minutes she joined us and said something to Dick in romanian. It sounded strange but what was stranger still is that she purposefully spoke a language that Kin and I didn't understand.

Kin and I ran into the bathrooms while Dick and Lily ran into their bedrooms. I was out first considering I only had a dark blue swim skirt and light blue bikini top. I was wearing my gray tank top as a cover up. Kin came out next wearing some superhero swim trunks and his tee-shirt as a cover up.

Dick soon followed with a white rash-guard and a different style of superhero swim trunks then Kin. Lily surprised Kin and I, instead of a tankini or a female bathing suit she wore swim trunks with three different shades of blue and and a dark gray rash-guard. She must have noticed our surprise because she mumbled, "My parents bought me swimsuits like this, it reminds me of them". Kin and I didn't know what to say and Lily looked down.

After that little incident we had fun, the pool was the perfect temperature and it had a slide. After three hours it was time for lunch and we reluctantly climbed out of the pool. Alfred brought ham and cheese sandwiches out to the pool area because we were all soaked, including Bruce who we accidently ended up splashing. Lunch finished and we were dry enough to run upstairs, change into our clothes and pack our bags.

Going to the garage Bruce led us to a SUV and once we were all in he drove us to our house. He asked if it would be ok to talk to dad so we invited him inside while Dick and Lily sat in the car. Kin and I waved, but I wasn't surprised when only Dick waved back.

~Dick's POV~

While we were in the car alone I turned to Lily and asked, "Are you ok, you're favoring your right leg". She nodded and simply said, "For using my leg more than I should be I'm doing fine". We both knew that she could be doing better. I told her, "I heard Bruce tell Alfred that he was going to take you to Dr. Leslie's office." She nodded, "I know Bruce told me after he scolded me for being too paranoid about Catherine"

I couldn't help it, I laughed. Lily looked at me and I realized that in a way she was hurt, I knew that she distrusted Catherine but me laughing at her had hurt. I hurriedly explained, "It's funny that Bruce scolds you for being paranoid when he's even more so." Lily still sulked, "I have reason to be suspicious of her, she's nosy...even more so than we were when we didn't know Bruce's secret".

I smiled slightly, she was right after all. Bruce came out a few minutes later and got in the SUV. Facing towards us he said, "Mr. Woods has agreed to come over Monday when you guys don't have school to work on the portraits. I want you two to be on your best behavior." We nodded our agreement, and I was wondering how Lily would react if Catherine or Kin showed up.

Bruce then drove us to Dr. Leslie's free clinic and she scolded him for waiting so long to bring Lily to her office. Her wrist was broken in two spots, her shoulder was still slightly dislocated, and even though she had hid them there was still bruises on her neck. Dr. Leslie was even more appalled when she found out how it happened. Properly setting Lily's shoulder and putting a cast on her wrist Dr. Leslie told Bruce, "You have to be more careful about Poison Ivy, she's going to be the reason Lily ends up dead". Sighing then she added, "I took care of everything I can, but those bruises need to heal on their own."

Lily thanked Dr. Leslie and slid off the examination table. While walking to the car she told me, "Thankfully Catherine knows about my broken wrist and she told Kin. She won't be that suspicious of a cast...but she doesn't know about everything else so I have to still be careful. I was lucky she didn't notice the slight cut on my calf". I winced, having thrown the bat-a-rang that cut her calf, "Sorry about that". She smiled, "It's ok, you weren't in control. I would never hold something like that over your head." I smiled back but was still guilty about what I had done to her last night.

Bruce took us to both get ice cream, something we always do if we go to a doctor's office and we smiled and thanked him. The three of us laughed when we saw that the store had three flavors that only Gotham would have. The three flavors were: Batman which was dark chocolate, Robin which was a strawberry ice cream with black candies mixed in, and Anonymous Girl ice cream which according to the cashier was changed everyday and they were not allowed to tell what flavor it was. Lily got a scoop of birthday cake ice cream and a scoop of anonymous girl ice cream, which today happened to be caramel flavor. I got a scoop of robin ice cream and a scoop of white chocolate ice cream. Bruce got a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream and a scoop of batman ice cream.

Once we sat down we all laughed at the fact we all got the ice cream named after our superhero name even though we planned it and that Lily was a little upset that they didn't have a set flavor for the ice cream named after her. To my amusement she was even more upset that they didn't use her real name but she still said it was the best caramel ice cream she ever had. I was glad to see that there was no lasting damage from our rough night and smiled as we finished the ice cream.


	8. Chapter 8

**Hey! Once again sorry about the delay. Please review!**

**Disclaimer: My friend owns the Woods family and the general story line, I only own Lily/Nightingale. DC comics owns everything else.**

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Chapter 10

Found Out

~Catherine's POV~

I was unsure whether to be excited or disappointed. Indie was taking Kin shoe shopping and didn't want me home alone so dad invited me to go with him. I was excited to see Dick but was disappointed to have to hang out with Lily. Quickly running upstairs to get ready for the day I put on a blue tank top, with a blue plaid shirt unbuttoned over it and some black jeans before slipping on my combat boots and running downstairs.

I helped dad load all his art tools into the trunk and climbed into the passenger seat. The drive to Wayne Manor was short and Bruce greeted us at the door. Bruce asked me if I could stay on the second floor because the downstairs would become a work zone. Having really no choice but to agree I did.

Things got worse, I was told by my dad to stay in Lily's room until he came to get me. Dick visited for a few minutes and I learned that they were confined up here too. Eventually he headed back to his room and I was stuck with Lily, who ignored me. She just sat on her bed and was drawing in a very full sketchbook that looked a few years old.

I had borrowed a piece of paper and pencil from Dick and sat on Lily's bedroom floor while I sketched. After a few minutes Lily stood up and said, "I'm going over to Dick's room for a while." Then she left and I couldn't have been happier, she was civil if she had to be but preferred to ignore me.

After she left I waited a few minutes then I stood up and decided to snoop, I was going to figure out why they were so different. I quickly looked through her very full sketchbook. Each drawing was dated, and the first ones she did weren't very good, but as the years went on the drawings improved and were really good. Most were not very different than the stuff most girls sometime draw, mermaids, scenes from books, fictional characters and OTPs. Two drawings were very different though. One of the pages dated a year ago showed a family portrait that was obviously her family, the other was a drawing of her and Dick standing on a winners pedestal. There was a small sticky note on the latter of the two with the words, birthday present for Dick.

I put her sketchbook down in the same spot it was before, hoping Lily wouldn't notice. Then I decided to snoop through a few more things. Her closet and dresser didn't have anything interesting and I was snooping through her desk next. I pulled open the bottom drawer finally. After pulling out folders, binders, and school supplies I noticed that there seemed to be less room than what it looked like from the outside of the dawer. I looked closely along the sides and noticed a few scratch marks. Pulling the drawer out of Lily's desk I noticed a small metal clasp in the back right and left corners, they were almost invisible.

Pushing the two clasps open caused the bottom of the drawer to pop up enough to be pried off. In the small compartment under the false floor was a much newer sketchbook then the one on her bed. I pulled it out and flipped it open, in doing so I had to suppress a gasp.

In the pages of the sketchbooks were pictures of costumes labeled "Nightingale costume ideas", different styles and labeled with different dates, all with measurements scrawled along the edges. At the back, after quite a few blank pages was a detailed blueprint of Arkham Asylum with labels like, needs more security, reinforced cell for someone with super strength, no plants can grow. I looked through the sketchbook again trying to make myself believe what I was seeing. This sketchbook had all the details that only a supervillain or hero would know, and all the costumes were very detailed versions of Anonymous Girl's costume, Dick and Lily knew everything about each other so if Lily was Nightingale, Dick was Robin. Which made Bruce the Batman. I just found out that the Waynes were Gotham's vigilantes. Quickly I put everything back and hoped I wouldn't get caught.

~Dick's POV~

Lily was on my computer and had accessed the recording device she had hid in her room before Catherine had come upstairs. I was slightly jealous that Lily could set one up so fast but was mortified that she had set it up in the first place. I was rearranging my closet because I needed something to.

I heard Lily sigh and say, "I knew we shouldn't have trusted her but you wouldn't believe me" I went over to my desk where Lily was sitting down and watched the video play out before me. I was surprised to watch Catherine go through Lily's sketchbook, being careful to put it back in its original spot.

Trying to defend her I started to say, "Maybe she just wanted to see your drawings, after all...". Here I trailed off as Catherine started to go through Lily's closet and drawers, missing a hidden drawer that held a few extra masks, listening devices, and recording devices. I avoided looking at Lily because I knew what look she would give me.

My dread deepened when I saw Catherine start to dig around the desk in my sister's room. I looked at Lily in alarm when the false bottom in her desk was discovered. I was surprised, shock, and very worried as we watched Catherine flipped through the costume designs and the Arkham blueprint in Lily's sketchbook twice.

Lily stood up and said, "Can I borrow a listening device? I want to make sure she doesn't tell anyone." I nodded understanding her reasoning and pulled out a small bug that would be virtually undetectable. She quickly turned it on and said she would be back soon. I used my computer to watch as Lily walked into her room and bumped into Catherine making it look like an accident. With a trained eye, I saw Lily put the bug on Catherine's side. Skin contact would have been better but we couldn't easily put it on her skin.

It went on her tank top instead. Lily swiftly apologized for bumping into her and went and sat on her bed after hearing someone walking on upstairs. Through my computer I saw Bruce and Mr. Woods walk into Lily's room and Catherine waved goodbye to Lily. I closed my computer as Catherine poked her head into my room and said, "Goodbye Dick, see you at school tomorrow." After a polite goodbye I walked down to Lily's room.

When I got there she was tentatively explaining what had happened to Bruce. He didn't seem mad at all which was good but he did still seem worried. He told us to be careful of what we said or did around her and to let him know if she told anyone. We nodded and Lily traded connected her computer to the small bug.

~Catherine's POV~

I was quiet during the drive home, trying to gather my thoughts together. I would tell Kin of course but my parents wouldn't believe me and my only friends at school included Lily, Dick, Kin and Barbara. I wasn't sure if Barbara knew but I didn't want to ruin some of her friendships.

Lily's attitude to everything made more sense now too. She was paranoid but she did care about others and because of that she pushed them away. It explained why Her and Dick covered as much skin as possible, the broken wrist, and any bruising that slightly showing. Why they didn't want to talk about their past. Why they both attended gym and why they hung out all the time. The clues were right there and yet they had been hidden from us the entire time.

When we got home Kin noticed subtle details only he would notice. The way I was holding myself, and my slightly wider than normal eyes. He motioned he would meet me upstairs and headed that way. I ate a quick lunch and ran was in his room and asked, "Cath, what's wrong?"

I sat down on his bed and in one quick sentence I said, "You'renevergoingtobelievewhatIfoundoutaboutLilyandDick,theyareNightingaleandRobin." Kin motioned for me to stop and said, "Breathe, your sentence needs spaces if you want me to understand it." Taking a deep breath I started over again, "You're never going to believe what I found out about Lily and Dick, they are Nightingale and Robin." He gave me a quizzical look, "Who and Robin?".

I explained, "I found a sketchbook in Lily's room. It held costume designs complete with patterns and measurements. Inside was a very detailed version of Anonymous Girl's costume. They were all labeled Nightingale. Also at the very back of the sketchbook was a blueprint of Arkham Asylum." Kin asked, "Are you sure?". I nodded, "Positive, it explains so much". Kin nodded his agreement, "You're right, it does explain a lot. If they come to school tomorrow we can confront them, if they don't we'll wait until they do come back to school". I nodded, it was the best we could do.

~Dick's POV~

Lily came into my room and she looked tired and worried. I asked, "Did she tell someone?". Lily nodded and answered my next unspoken question, "She told Kin, but they aren't going to tell anyone else. Unfortunately if we go to school tomorrow they are going to confront us." I sighed, this wouldn't be good. If we didn't show up it would make it look like we were avoiding them but if we went to school we would have to avoid them.

I stood from my seated position, "Let's go find Bruce, we promised we would tell him". Lily nodded and the two of us trudged downstairs. When we couldn't find him or Alfred downstairs we headed to the Grandfather clock and revealed the door leading down to the Batcave.

Once we were in the Batcave we found Bruce and told him what happened. He sighed, "I feared that she would tell Kin, you two still need to go to school tomorrow but try to persuade them that you are not Robin and Nightingale. For both their sakes and yours". We nodded our understanding then ran upstairs to enjoy the little bit of our day off we still had left.


	9. Chapter 9

**Hey everyone I'm so sorry for the delay, school has started and on top of that I forgot to plan the middle of this story with my friend, meaning it will take me a while in between chapters. Thank you all for your patience and please review!**

**Disclaimer: I only own Lily/Nightingale, The Woods family is owned by my friend larkofitaly as is the original storyline. DC comics and warner brothers own everything else.**

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Chapter 11

Suspicions are Confirmed

~Third Person POV~

For the first time in a while Catherine was up before her alarm clock went off, which meant that she also woke up Kin earlier than usual. As usual he didn't care, this time he rushed to get ready barely saying anything in greeting. Catherine was glad because she was getting ready with the same vigor as her brother. Today was they day that they finally learned the truth about their friends. Both were anxious for the day to continue.

On the other side of Gotham, Lily Pierce and Dick Grayson were very much the opposite. Both started to slowly get ready for school, neither one wanting the day to happen. There was to much evidence to easily hide the truth, but both had to try not only to protect themselves but to protect the Woods. The night before had caused Dick to get a bruise right under his rib cage that hiding that was hard enough without the cast on Lily's wrist that was impossible to hide. Both sighed, it would be a long day.

The bus that Catherine and Kin rode to school was on time and arrived at the school early. Both stood in the courtyard waiting for the arrival of the other two, twelve year olds, standing in a spot that couldn't be missed. They were going to wait as long as they could. Upon request Alfred dropped the two stressed children off two blocks away from the school, both hoping that they could avoid the conversation that was going to happen soon. After saying good bye Lily and Dick slowly walked to the school.

The actions of these four twelve year olds showed how one event could cause such different reactions depending on the group. None of them knew how this conversation would impact all of their lives or change them, not necessarily for the better but not for worse.

~Catherine's POV~

Lily and Dick still weren't at school and we had five minutes before we had to head inside for homeroom. I turned to Kin, "I think that they are avoiding us, they usually beat us to school but now they aren't even here". Kin reasoned, "They could just be stuck in traffic, you saw the mess of cars around downtown". I nodded willing to give them that possibility and turned back to the gate.

Five minutes later they still hadn't showed up and my theory was becoming more and more concrete. They only had five more minutes until homeroom started. They both arrived with a minute to spare, sitting down right before the bell went off, giving Kin and I had no time to talk to them before announcements and attendance started.

After homeroom they were one of the first ones out the door headed to French V. If Kin and I didn't get a chance to talk to them during French we would have to wait through two periods until lunch. We had to talk to them in French class, it was one of our last periods that we could talk openly with each other. Math didn't give anytime for talking and this was a conversation that we had to do in one group, not two.

Once we sat down Kin asked Dick, "**Are the two of you avoiding us?**". Dick shook his head and replied, "**We got caught in traffic and slept in today**". No signs in Lily and Dick's body language said they were lying. Although if my theory was right that meant nothing. Lily said, "**Sorry if you thought we were avoiding you, that was not our intention**".

Lily was still very much the same, quiet and civil. There was no reason to be suspicious of her behavior, but I had seen the difference between her interaction with Dick and Barbara and her interaction with Kin and I. So I decided to ask a question that should point that out, "**Why are you only civil to most others? You get along with Barbara and Dick really well.**" Lily retorted, "**Haven't you heard of shyness? It takes me a while to open up to new people.**"

The late bell then rung and class started. We got in a few sentences as class continued but not a lot. We were writing an essay in french about the history of the French language, so the room was mostly silent. Lily and Dick were strangely silent, more than usual. I would have chalked it up as them trying to focus but Lily had a photographic memory and Dick was really good at learning languages that had the same base as Romanian.

In a hushed whisper I said, "**You two can trust us.**" Dick smiled, "**I know**" and Lily quietly added, "**We have nothing to hide.**". That wasn't exactly true, they didn't like talking about their pasts and hadn't, I only knew their past because I was snooping. I remembered all the flips and other moves I had seen Robin and Nightingale use, it was so similar to what I had seen Dick and Lily do multiple times.

Kin suddenly asked, "**Why do the two of you sound so rehearsed?**". He was right, they did sound rehearsed, like they had known what questions we were going to ask. Dick gave us a puzzled look, "**What do you mean?**" Kin and I didn't have a way to describe it and we tried. Their expression got even more puzzled so we stopped. The bell rang symbolizing the end of class, everyone hurried to pick up their school supplies and hurry to their lockers. Once again Lily and Dick were one of the first ones out the door, leaving Kin and I very puzzled.

My next two classes was just Kin and I, Lily and Dick had English than Science while we had Science than English. Kin and I were perplexed, our two friends had never acted this strange and it was confusing. They had both made sure to dash to their next class so we couldn't ask too many questions.

I decided that they were hiding something from us, I didn't even consider the fact that the English class was two halls away, they had made it to class on time while still stopping a bit to chat. I was going to get to the bottom of things, I had to.

~Dick's POV~

I knew we were being too obvious but they already knew and so avoiding them was the only way we could avoid lying. It helped that they had planned some of the questions they were going to ask the night before changing clothes. We had listened to the questions right before Catherine changed clothes and Lily made the bug self-destruct. That's why we had answers to a lot of their questions. Unfortunately that had led to our downfall when Kin recognized that we sounded rehearsed.

We had two subjects to get back to our usual selves before lunch. We didn't have the luxury of avoiding lunch. Both of us knew that if we skipped lunch, they would put the rest of the pieces together. English and Science helped both of us relax again and by lunch we were back to acting like ourselves. Thankfully, now we could try to protect our friends and our secret.

Once lunch came Lily and I beat Kin and Catherine to the table. Almost warily they came and sat down next to us. With a smile and a slight laugh I said, "It's ok you two we won't bite". Mentally I was panicked but I didn't show it, that was the key, to hide emotions. Lily simply gave a small wave as she usually did.

We answered a few questions as vaguely as we could without them seeing vague. We answered a few questions about our past hesitantly, but Kin and Catherine stopped asking those questions when Lily pointed out that we had never told them about our pasts. Catherine said something about us being famous, so there was a lot of information on us before asking different questions.

It was obvious that they knew but wanted to disbelieve it. We could have gotten away with not telling them until we stood up to go outside. As the four of us stood up Catherine's foot got caught on the table leg and she fell backwards. I was already beside her and I quickly caught her waist, the same way I had when saving her at the Wing Cafe a month and a half ago.

Her thank you was cut off as her eyes widened in surprise. Both and Kin were staring at me and Catherine quickly stood up straight up. In a whispered tone of voice she said, "I knew it, I wanted to disbelieve it but it's true". They backed up roughly two steps and continued staring in shock, Lily came and stood next to me. In romanian she whispered "_What should we do?_". I whispered back, "_I don't know_".

Before the silence could reach an awkward stage Lily asked, "You knew what?". Catherine answered in a whisper, "You're...Anonymous Girl and Robin.". Lily laughed lightly, "I wish, truth is Dick and I just have fast reflexes, you need them once you reach more advanced gymnastics. If you don't react fast enough broken bones happen." Lily lifted her hand drawing attention to the cast around her wrist.

Unfortunately it didn't work, Catherine shook her head. "No...I was saved a month and a half ago by Robin...just like Dick saved me now". I tried, "We aren't heroes you two...we're just like you." Once again it didn't work. This time it was Kin who spoke in a whisper, "You two have to be Anonymous Girl and Robin...it's the only thing that makes sense with everything else".

Lily and I were barely able to hide our panic, they knew it and they would not change their minds. The only thing left to do was tell them everything and that wasn't a choice. Lily and I didn't know how to continue but we had to think of something fast. Unfortunately we were out of time. Catherine looked us in the eyes, "You two can't keep lying to us, we know the truth".

Lily and I looked at each other and a silent conversation passed between us. We had to tell them the truth, they already knew it and we had tried to dissuade them. We had exhausted all our other options. With a sigh Lily and I said at the same time, "You have us figured out". Kin and Catherine didn't know how to react and we didn't explain anything else as the bell rang and we had to run up to math class. Lily and I were both positive we would be asked a million questions.

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**Catherine and Kin know the truth, after 11 chapters! Once again please review if you have any questions or comics.**


	10. Chapter 10

**I am so very sorry for the delay. I wasn't sure on how to get the story to where I wanted it to go. As a result this is more of a filler ****chapter, the next chapter should be longer and more exciting. Thank you to everyone who has stayed with this story, it means a lot to me. Please Review!**

**Disclaimer: Almost everything is owned by Warner Brothers/DC comics. Catherine and Kin are owned by my good friend larkofitaly. Lily is entirely my character.**

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Chapter 12

What now?

~Dick's POV~

We were bombarded with questions, few we actually answered. Both Lily and I were dreading telling Bruce, something that we had to do in person and not over text message or phone call. Slowly the minutes ticked by, each one seeming longer than the one before it.

By the time I thought I was going to go crazy the bell rang. I didn't even bother showering after gym, choosing instead to just quickly change back into my school uniform and out of the gym one. I worked quickly so no one else noticed the scars from a few years as Robin.

Lily and I met in the pick up line but didn't talk, we didn't need too. That's what I thought until Lily broke the silence, "I don't trust them, Catherine especially. Some of the questions she was asking leaned more on how to become a hero". That wasn't good but I tried to calm Lily down a bit, "You remember the training we had to go through, it'll take forever." Lily nodded slightly, "I hadn't thought of that".

We fell back into silence while waiting for Alfred. He came soon and asked, "How was school?" We shrugged while I added, "It was ok" Alfred understood immediately and said, "I presume I'll be making cookies". His cookies were our go to comfort food and today we needed them.

Dropping our backpacks in the hall and promising Alfred we would pick them up we went to find Bruce. He was in the batcave working on some case or another and put down the file when we walked in. He noticed the twin expressions of worry and sighed, "They figured it out?" When we nodded he asked, "Did you try to dissuade them?" At a second nod he sighed again, "We have no choice but to see how this plays out".

With a third nod we headed back upstairs to complete our homework. Homework was quiet event, our usual chit-chatting abandoned as we both worried over what might happen. Alfred brought us cookies and our silence was abandoned as we thanked him.

After homework was finished I turned around and saw Lily staring intensely at a glass of water. "Do you miss it?". She jumped slightly, "Not usually, but somedays I do. Mostly the days when I'm super stressed." I nodded my understanding as Lily turned away from the cup to face me.

I was slightly surprised at her question, "Do you think they will turn us in? We may be their friends...you more than me...but we have been lying to them." I shook my head, "I don't think they will turn us in, but I'm sure they will try something". What Lily had said about the questions Catherine was asking I was sure she would try something.

~Catherine's POV~

"I want to join them." Kin looked at me, mouth slightly opened in surprise, "Are you crazy!? Do you know how dangerous their job is?!" I shrugged, "I don't think Batman will let it be that dangerous."

Kin looked at me like I had grown another two heads, "It's Gotham, Lily has a broken wrist, Dick a bruised rib and those are just from this week. I can't even begin to imagine the amount of scars they have." I sighed, "Kin, It shouldn't be that hard". In shock he repeated, "It's Gotham!".

"It may be Gotham, but it might be a way to learn why Lily is the way she is." In a fierce whisper he replied, "Catherine! I don't care if it's to satisfy your curiosity. Gotham does not have the highest crime rate for no reason. It's dangerous! You could die!". I put a hand on his shoulder, "I'm grateful you're looking out for me, but you never know if Bruce would even allow me to join patrol with them. I'm at least going to ask."

He sighed defeated, "Ok, you can at least ask. I'm not happy about this though." With a small smile I said, "I know". Returning the small smile he headed to his room. I pulled out a sketchbook and quickly started sketching costume ideas. I wanted a bird name and after a few minutes found one I liked, Lark.

With a bird in mind I was able to sketch out the costume. A black domino mask was the easiest part, as was the black cape with a slight golden trim. The tunic took a bit of work. In the end it had a cut similar to Robin's. The color scheme was different. The top half was a light brown, while the pants were closer to a tan color. I had another costume sketched where the pants were black.

I'd show these to them tomorrow, I'd just have to be careful of our surroundings. With my sketchbook tucked safely into my backpack I got ready for bed. I was excited for tomorrow, but I was worried that they would avoid us during the school day. The more I thought about it the more I realized why they had lied to us.

I'll admit that them lying to us hurt, but it was easier to understand why they had to the more I thought about it. I fell asleep looking out the window, trying to see the bat-symbol.

~Third Person POV~

Batman stood atop the rooftop of Wayne Enterprises, thinking over the events of the day. Robin and Nightingale were at home, both choosing to go to bed early instead of coming along on patrol. Well Robin had chose to head to bed early, Nightingale had been sent to bed early, once again taken off patrol.

While on the roof of the building he technically owned Batman continued to think about what was going to happen over the next few weeks. Four twelve year old teens were thinking about the same thing. The first time but not the last it was going to happen.

The secret that had been spilled changed everything. Maybe if the truth hadn't been figured out some days would be better than they were, but others most certainly would have been worse. The night was quiet, almost as if the city itself was holding it's breath. Waiting to see what happened now.

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**There was a slight mentioning of my story Remembering. It's not important to this story, it was just a way for conversation.**


	11. Chapter 11

**I'm super sorry for the delay again. I've been super busy and experiencing computer difficulties. I'm trying to post more, but that hasn't really worked out. Please review even it's just to leave a question or to tell me to hurry up.**

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Chapter 13

Welcome?

~Catherine's POV~

I woke up to my alarm clock and jumped out of bed. The first thing I did was make sure my sketchbook was still in my backpack. I smiled, I couldn't wait to talk to Dick about what I wanted to do. I was hesitant to talk to Lily, I wasn't sure how much of her frosty but civil attitude was acting.

Once at school, Kin and I waited for Lily and Dick in the courtyard before we had to go showed up and walked over. They both tried for a smile and Lily failed at it, hers turning into a grimace. "I want to ask you guys something…". Lily cut me off, "Not here, it's the wrong time and the wrong place.".

Both looked like they hadn't slept, and Dick was digging around his backpack for something. After he found what he was looking for he pulled it out and handed it to me. "There's a ball/gala Saturday night at Wayne Manor. If you can make it we can talk there. It's not hard to sneak away at these parties if you know how".

I took a quick look at the invitation that he handed me. It was Wednesday now and I'm sure my parents would let us go, they had wanted to go on a date night for a while. "I'll ask my parents, but can you two look at these?". Dick took my sketchbook and flipped it open to the two costume ideas, "I like the name, but I would not go with the costume with tan pants. Black is the safer color." Lily looked over his shoulder, "If you got in, it would fit with the group. Same colors as mine and the same cut as Dick's". That was a bit shocking, the fact that Lily half gave me a compliment. Then she looked up, "Try to come on Saturday, we will talk then".

She was still being civil, even if it wasn't as prominent as before. Now that we had figured out the truth, their act was slipping. Although Dick wasn't acting too much, Lily had gone the extra mile to only appear civil to everyone who wasn't a close friend.

That illusion was slightly shattered as the bell rang. Kin and Dick started to head inside and Lily turned to me, "To be honest with you, I really don't trust you." With that message delivered, Lily followed her brother inside. Shocked, it took me a minute to head inside.

Saturday came, as did the party. Indie and dad were excited that we got an invitation and because Lily and Dick would be attending they let us go too. Wearing the nicest clothes we had we left for Wayne Manor. Once we arrived it was obvious that we didn't really fit in.

Once inside Indie and Dad thanked Mr. Wayne and then began to mingle. I almost couldn't recognize Dick and Lily. They looked like the popular kids in school with how they were dressed and acting. They both walked over and smiled. Dick whispered, "We have to mingle for a while, but we will find time to talk."

Then he surprised me, "Cathrine would you like to dance?". I nodded and we went over to where there were other's dancing. Soon we were dancing and Dick gave me a real smile, "I wouldn't mind if you joined but it's dangerous. Lily and I had to go through a lot of training before we could officially go on patrol."

I sent him a questioning look, "Officially?". His smile became a little sheepish, "There were times we didn't listen." A small laugh escaped my throat then becoming serious I asked, "What kind of training?"

He kind of shrugged, "Endurance, cardio, technology. Those kind of things." I tilted my head, "That's not at all vague." He smiled, "It was easier then it would have been if I wasn't naturally athletic but it was still pretty tough". I sighed, "How long was the training period?."

"It depends on the person. I wasn't officially ready for about seven months and Lily wasn't ready for ten. Although I think that's because Bruce wasn't ready to have her join". Lily was nearby, "That's exactly right". Then she was moving through the crowd of people.

"How does she do that?". He shrugged, "Who knows. She's constantly doing things like that." After another two songs and some small chit-chat Lily and Kin found their way over. Kin had a piece of cake, "Cath you should try the cake, it's good." I shook my head as Dick asked, "Is that our cue?". Lily nodded and then Dick started leading us toward the cake table.

~Dick's POV~

Once at the cake table I looked around for Bruce. He had vanished somewhere in the crowd, so I went out the back door, "Come on, I know a safe place to talk." Using a window ledge and a nearby tree I managed to get on the awning over the back door.

Catherine called up, "We aren't all able to do that." I called down, "There's a lattice structure to the left, you can use that. I just took the fun way." While Kin and Catherine used the lattice as a ladder Lily came up the same way I did, not caring if she got her dress dirty.

Lily started, "Honestly I'm not so keen on you joining, but I know that you're the type of person who will try anyways and I'm less keen on you dying because you don't have the proper training." Catherine seemed taken aback and Kin seemed a little shock. I quickly jumped in, "I'm assuming that only Catherine wants to join.". They quickly agreed that it was only Catherine.

I continued, "Both of you can't tell anyone though, if the secret got out we'd all be in a lot of trouble." Kin and Catherine nodded. Lily added, "Our extracurriculars are dangerous, and even with training you could get killed. Batman doesn't let me out on patrol often and I've been training since I was nine years old. So there is no promise that you'll get to go on patrol often." Catherine didn't look like she cared it was dangerous.

Up on the awning over the back door we talked for half an hour. Discussing the pros and cons of joining the team. Catherine seemed more and more excited while Kin got more discouraged. Lily suddenly said, "We're out of time. Your parents are looking for you. I'll create an excuse for why we are out here". With that she quickly climbed off the awning the same way her and I had got up.

Kin exclaimed quietly, "How does she know?". This time I did have an answer, "Lily and I are always very careful at these things. Especially since someone tried to kidnap us to hold us for ransom. Ever since then we place bugs at certain areas and take turns listening."

With that explained I climbed off the awning, soon Catherine and Kin joined me. A little while later Lily joined us with four plates with small pieces of cake. "Here we go, an excuse for why we are missing the party." We sat down on the back porch and at the cake. As we were finishing our cake Mr. and Mrs. Woods found us.

Soon we were saying goodbye to Kin and Catherine. As I was giving Catherine a hug I whispered, "I'll see you soon and we can discuss a few things". She smiled and nodded as they left. We could figure this out soon, and although I'd never admit it to Lily I thought Catherine would make a good match to the team. The hardest part is I would have to convince Bruce and maybe Lily.

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**I'll try to post a new chapter soon.**


	12. Chapter 12

**Hey! Once again sorry for the delay. Here is the next chapter. Please review!**

**Disclaimer: I only own Lily. My friend LarkofItaly owns the Woods family. Everything else is owned by Warner Bros. and DC comics**

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Chapter 14

First Time at the Bat Cave

~Dick's POV~

Two months have passed and snow fills the streets of Gotham. I've worked with Catherine almost everyday on what to expect. As a secret I've been working with Lily on making Catherine a costume. It only took me a month to convince Bruce to let Catherine join, but I still haven't convinced Lily. She only helping because she knows I'll do it myself if I have too, and I'd probably make a big mistake.

The costume was about finished, and would be completely done after winter break. Hopefully then she could join on patrol. That didn't matter though if I couldn't pass the assessment Bruce had set up If I didn't pass I wouldn't be allowed on patrol. So far I was doing a pretty good job.

Every once in awhile Bruce would set up assessments to see where Lily and I were in our training. Sometimes we did really well and other times not so much. Dodging a robotic fist and then using the arm as a platform I managed to shut down the first robot. That left four out of twelve robots. Unfortunately each training robot learned from the mistakes of those defeated before it.

Liy was completing a different part so that wasn't helpful to me and the EMP on my glove had been turned off. Receiving a punch to the shoulder I managed to shut down another droid. "Ouch! What did you make these things out of Bruce? Steel?" I already knew the answer and it was a yes. Bruce ignored my question, "If you have energy to talk you have energy to continue."

Three hours later both Lily and I were completely done with the assessment and back to working on Catherine's, Lark costume. "Are you done programming her halo-gloves?" This came from Lily who was hunched over a table working on a small insignia. I was in charge of the tech pieces for the most part and shook my head, "I still have three days of programming at least! What about you?"

She looked up slightly, "Have to finish her insignia and the trim on the cape but the majority of the assembly is done. We might be done with the costume sooner than we thought." I nodded and turned back to the computer. The gloves were complicated but I enjoyed this part. Lily broke the silence again, "Should we see if she can come over Saturday, if you want her to be part of the team she should probably see the Batcave soon and her costume should be done by then." I nodded, "Yeah, that sounds good. I'll go ask Bruce."

~Catherine's POV~

The phone call came Tuesday night and Indie called, "Catherine, phone's for you." Running downstairs I took the phone from her hand, "Thanks Indie" Sitting on top of the counter I put the phone to my ear, "Hello?". A happy, familiar voice spoke up, "Hey Cath!" I smiled slightly, "Hey Dick. What's up?".

My smile widened at his words, "You are invited to Wayne manor for a few hours on Saturday. I have something to show you." My reply was short and excited, "Awesome! See you then!" The phone clicked and I jumped off the counter to go find my parents. I was really excited about this.

Over the course of the next few days I could think of little else. Sure the activities my parents had planned for the family were fun but I was really curious about what Dick wanted to show me. I had a million guesses, some more outrageous than others but they were created to satisfy my curiosity.

After what seemed like ages Saturday rolled around. Dad drove me to Wayne Manor. I gave him a quick hug and before I got out of the car he spoke up, "I'll be back to pick you up in three hours." I smiled, "Okay dad" and carefully climbed out of the car.

Walking up to the door, Alfred opened it before I had a chance to knock. "Hello Miss Catherine". I smiled, "Hello Alfred" He led me inside and I waved to dad as he pulled away. "Master Dick should be here shortly' I smiled, "Thanks Alfred." He smiled but before he could walk into the kitchen Dick came out of an adjoining hallway.

He was clad in a pair of grey sweat pants and had a towel draped across his shoulders. Alfred scolded "Master Dick, what are you doing without a shirt on?" He laughed, although his natural laugh was a cackle but it made me smile. He then answered Alfred's question, "I still have some training left and it's your rule that I can't wear a shirt while training. Less laundry and less of a chance of them tearing."

Alfred sighed softly and went to the kitchen. Dick smiled over at me, "Come on, I have something to show you." I followed him into the hallway he had run out of and into Bruce's study. In a practiced motion he pulled the pendulum in the grandfather clock down slightly. The clock slid away from the wall revealing an open elevator door.

"Wow" I whispered as he pulled me into the elevator. The door slid shut and he covered my eyes with his hands, "It's a surprise." Soon the elevator slid to a stop and he said, "Take three steps forward, don't worry I won't let you fall". I followed his instructions and heard the elevator door close behind us.

His hands lifted and I was at a loss for words. I couldn't believe I was standing in the Batcave. I took in the sprawling rock walls, the tech, the evidence lab, and the training area where a small figure was beating up on a punching bag. "It's huge" I finally whispered. He smiled, "Yeah, it really is." He showed me how to hold onto the fireman pole to get down and within minutes were were both on the bottom layer. The pounding on the punching bag stopped and Lily walked over. She was clad in grey sweatpants and a black half-shirt, "What do you think?"

I answered, "It's amazing. I can't believe I get to see this." She shrugged slightly, "It is pretty cool." I looked around again and jumped when Bruce suddenly appeared, costume on but cowl off. He smiled, "Dick, Lily you two go finish your last few minutes and shower. I'll take Catherine on a tour." So he did. It seemed so much bigger than it looked.

Ten minutes later Dick and Lily joined us both fully dressed and recently showered. Dick turned to Bruce, "Can I show her now?". At a yes Dick grabbed my hand and pulled me over to a slightly cylindrical locker. It was probably closer to a crescent moon shape. A strange lock was by the door and Lily explained, "Go ahead, we already entered your genetics. It'll open with your handprint."

I touched my hand to the scanner and the locker swung open. My mouth dropped open as I saw the manikin clothed in a light brown, black, and golden costume. I was speechless and let the cape run through my hands. Dick cackled, "Changing rooms are over there, see how it fits!"

I started to pick up the pieces of the costume, there were a lot of them. Once everything was gathered I headed to the changing room. It took me a minute to figure out how to put the main tunic on but once that was figured out the rest was pretty easy. I quickly spun around watching as the cape fluttered behind me.

The costume was heavier than expected, and I could easily feel the protective armor even if it wasn't easily visible. I walked out and Dick smiled, "Glad it fits." Lily made a slow circle around me, "Good, I got the measurements right.". I smiled and removed the domino mask, "Thanks you guys, it's awesome!"

~Dick's POV~

We spent the next few hours showing Catherine how to use the utilities in her belt. It was a lot of fun and I knew that she would be a great match for the team, even if her aim was a bit off. The costume suited her, and it was a bit obvious that the hero life would suit here.

She went to go change back into her clothes and I pulled Lily aside, "Thank you for dropping the civil act entirely. Thank you for being accepting." She shrugged, "I still don't trust her, but Catherine joining the team means a lot to you so I can at least try."

Then she smiled, "Who knows, maybe I'll find that I enjoy her being on the team." I gave my sister a quick hug before Catherine came out of the changing room. The three of us ran upstairs before Mr. Woods could pull into the driveway. I smiled, "Cath, we will try to have you over again soon. Until then stay safe please." She nodded and gave me a hug, "I will, you stay safe though". I cackled, "No promises, but I'll try."

At the last second I remembered what I had forgotten and handed her a communicator that looked like a small phone. "If you're ever in trouble, press the call button. It'll send a signal to the Batcave and we will be there soon."

She slipped it into her pocket, "I'll keep that in mind. Thank you Dick.". Smiling I spoke up as she started out the door, "That's what friends are for."


	13. Chapter 13

**Once again sorry for the long wait! This chapter is longer than my usual ones and still feels incomplete so sorry about that too. I'll post as soon as I can. Please Review!**

**Disclaimer: I only own Lily/Nightingale. Catherine/Lark is owned by my friend Larkofitaly. The rest of the characters are owned by their respective companies.**

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Chapter 15

So This is What it's Like.

~Catherine's POV~

It was late when I heard a strange ringing sound. It was quiet, but noticeable. I had just gotten ready for bed. Tomorrow was monday, the last monday of winter break and I wanted to enjoy not having school. The ringing was coming from under my pillow. I quickly pulled out the communicator Dick gave me yesterday and discovered that it was the thing ringing.

I quickly pressed the answer button and a video pulled up on the screen. A sign covered the camera so it was all I could see. _You might want to use headphones, it's pretty loud over here._ I quickly found my headphones and had to untangle them.

Plugging them in I gave whoever was on the other end a thumbs up. The sign pulled away from the camera and Lily appeared in view dressed in costume without the mask. She quickly pressed a few buttons and the sound hit me like a tidal wave. Sirens were wailing, alarms were going off, and a robotic voice was listing places.

"How can you focus?" I asked. She shook her head, "I have too but can't really. I still don't really trust you, but promised Dick I would try. Which is why I'm calling, I need help. Bruce and Dick went on patrol six hours ago, and I haven't heard from them. Even their locators indicator have vanished. Since then it seems every petty criminal is running rampant."

My eyes widened slightly, "Why do you need my help? I literally have two hours of training." She shrugged, "I know, which is why I'm going to show you how to use the computer. If you're running things from here then I can go on patrol. Before you ask about Alfred, he's here but he'll need help on the computers. When he frets he cleans."

I held back a sigh, "Okay, but slight problem. How do I get there?" She weakly smiled, "I've got that covered, be outside in ten minutes." I nodded and the video clicked off. Quickly I got dressed in a pair of black jeans, a black shirt, and a black cap pulled low over my face.

Once dressed I locked my door. Usually Indie and dad don't check on me anymore, but I wanted to be safe. Having only a little bit of time left I silently slid my window up. Using the water pipe and the porch roof I managed to get safely down.

Less than 30 seconds later a light covered the street and Lily, as Nightingale rode into view. I muttered, "Of course you know how to drive a motorcycle." She nodded and tossed me a simple red helmet. "I'll bring you back to the Batcave, my only suggestion is that you hold on tight."

Slipping the helmet over my head I climbed on behind her. The motorcycle took off and I accidently let out a yelp of surprise. "Do motorcycles usually go this fast?". Nightingale shook her head and called back, "Our's are a little faster than normal. Quickly I grabbed on tighter as Nightingale drove like a madwoman.

I had to close my eyes when she sped up, aiming towards a sign. We didn't crash though and soon I could hear the distant echo of sirens. I opened my eyes to find myself in a long stone tunnel. The alarms got louder as we got closer to the center of the cave.

The motorcycle slid to a halt as Lily locked it and flipped off over the front of the handlebars. Barely saying a word to me she ran to the computer, "I was barely gone for twenty minutes! There should not have been sixteen more break-ins!"

I joined her by the computer and she started explaining how things worked. Understanding she was worried I didn't interrupt and made sure I got everything done the first time. She handed me a com, "I'll keep you posted, that way you can turn off some of the alarms." I nodded and slipped the com into my ear. "Good luck."

Lily managed a tight smile before quickly climbing back onto her motorcycle. "Thanks Catherine." The she was off down one of the mini side tunnels. I sat down in the chair and kept track off the different screens.

~Robin's POV~

I shook my head slightly as I woke up. My mouth felt like cotton and my arms had locked in their position. Opening my eyes I looked around the room for Batman. I didn't see him much to my worry. A voice echoed around the room, "Well, well, look who just woke up." I recognized the twisted voice, "Dr. Crane. When did you escape Arkham?" I asked coldly.

Suddenly he was in my face, the grotesque mask less than an inch away. "It's Scarecrow, Dr. Crane is gone." I cackled, "Gone crazy you mean." He walked over to a metal table, "We'll see who's laughing soon." He picked up a syringe, "I need a subject for my new serum before I turn it into a gas."

The way he said it almost made my breath catch in my throat, only due to years of training was I able to keep it from happening. I was in for a long night, unless Batman or Nightingale could save me. Eyeing the syringe I started to work on the knots holding my wrists together.

I wasn't fast enough. Crane grabbed my hair and pulled, tilting my head to the side far enough that he could push the syringe into my neck. Hoping that this was a bad batch, because if it wasn't then I just got a concentrated dose, I kept working on the knots. It wasn't a bad batch, this I realized as flashes of fears started to become more and more continual.

Soon I was living in a nightmare, one that had plenty of fuel for the fire. Now all I wanted and need was for someone to save me. I wanted to be saved from this nightmare for it to stop. They didn't and against everything I've trained for, I screamed. It started off as one occasionally but soon they were all I could hear.

~Third Person POV~

Police were rushing all around, overwhelmed with the amount of break-ins and robberies. With Batman and Robin missing and a late start on Nightingale's part, crime had spiked. Those who were smart had locked their doors and windows.

Batman had managed to escape his bonds and was busy trying to find his son. An unfortunate goon got the brunt of his anger when Robin's terror filled screams echoed around the warehouse. The amount of goons between was immense, but he wasn't going to let anything stop him from saving his son.

The kevlar in his suit protected him from the majority of the blows. With minor difficulty he reached the door. It was locked. An echo mingled with the screams as Batman forced his shoulder into the solid door. That echo came again, then a third time, then a fourth before the door finally opened.

That sight that came into view was a terrifying, sickening one. Robin was shaking violently in the chair he was tied to, terror filled screams leaving his mouth. Scarecrow stood behind him loosely holding a syringe filled with a ghostly yellow liquid. A shattered glass syringe laid at the base of the chair.

Scarecrow turned towards the older hero, "Take one more step Batman and I inject the Boy Wonder with another dosage. His heart won't survive another concentrated dose". The older man froze not willing to risk his son's life, but glaring at the insane scientist. Scanning the rotting roof, a loose beam caught his attention. It would take speed and precision to pull off, especially since he only had one shot. Taking a deep breath Batman quickly reached into his belt for two Batarangs and tossed them into opposite sides of the rotting beam.

They exploded and the beam fell from the ceiling, onto Scarecrow who didn't have time to react. Unfortunately the building started to shake. In seconds Batman was over by Robin's side, in even less time the ropes were cut and Robin was being lifted ever so gently.

The deranged scientist was grabbed less carefully and dragged out of the warehouse. As Batman was tightly tying Crane to a light pole, the warehouse came crashing down. Barely caring about the ancient building, Batman climbed into the passenger seat of the Batmobile. All it took was leaning over to press a few buttons and soon the car was off, while he held the small form of a shaking boy.

Across town Nightingale's com beeped. Lifting one hand to her ear while the other hand punched someone she said, "Hello?". Her face paled at the message receive, "It's good to hear you Batman, but why is the medical bay needed. What happened to Robin?". Her face paled further, "That's not good. I'll ask Agent A."

The com went silent and as she was securing the two petty criminals, she taped into a new frequency. "Lark, I have contained the threat. Where is the next one?". She nodded, "Okay, thanks, I'll be right there. Will you please ask Agent A to prep the med-bay? Robin needs it." She didn't really answer her friends question, having to quickly speed to the next place.

It seemed like this would be a long night for everyone. Especially since things had just begun to calm down. Although everyone should have know, Gotham was never calm. It was much more typical to have long nights, that never ended.

~Catherine's POV~

The med-bay was ready to go and I could barely focus on anything. Alfred couldn't either. A long black car that I recognized sped into the Batcave. I quickly told Lily the next location as Batman climbed out of the car with a shaking form in his arms. He barely said anything, bringing Robin to the med-bay and laying him on the table.

He turned to Alfred, "I got the screaming to stop but we need to hurry. He got a concentrated dose of a new batch of fear toxin in his system.". His hands were shaking slightly as he worked. The antidote didn't take long, but at the same time seemed to take forever.

Finally the antidote took effect and Dick's shaking stopped, him falling into a peaceful sleep. Bruce turned to me, "Where's Lily and how did you get here?" I explained everything and he nodded his understanding. Then he tapped the com in his ear, "Lily, where are you?" He must of got his answer because he slightly shook his head.

"How many left?" I wasn't sure who he was asking but answered, "She has five more left." Nodding his thanks to me Bruce tapped his com again, "Finish up two and leave the remaining three to the police, you need to be here." Lily must have started to protest because Bruce said with steel in his voice, "Two, you weren't suppose to go out tonight anyways."

My com crackled to life, "He's such a killjoy. Which two have the most amount of people?" I looked at the computer screen and rattled off two addresses, which thankfully for me were the first two on the list of remaining instances. "Thanks Lark" was all that was said before it fell silent.

Bruce started pacing silently, and I sat in the awkward silence. Both of our coms must of beeped after a few minutes because I jumped and Bruce lifted a hand to the side of his head. Lily's voice crackled to life, "Finished the first one, I'll be quick with the second." Then the coms went silent and the awkward atmosphere resumed.

Around twenty minutes later a motorcycle drove into the cave at break-neck speed, sliding to a stop. Batman didn't wait for the slim girl to stop and walked over. To my surprise he pulled her into a hug and she returned it. No words passed between them. After a minute she pulled away. I wondered if I would ever understand these people, and hoped that someday I would.


	14. Author's Note

**Hey everyone,**

**I know it's been a while since I've worked on ****Lark****. I have not given up on the story, I'm simply stuck at the moment. ****Lark**** is only on hiatus. I don't know how long, but I will update it again when I'm no longer in the middle of a huge writers block for it. Sorry for an even longer delay.**

**NightingaleandRobin.**


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